Otter User Guide

This guide reflects the current Android implementation in this repository. It documents what users can do in the app today, not roadmap-only features.

If you only need the writing syntax, jump to Syntax Reference.

What Otter is right now

Otter is a local-first Android notes app with:

• a hybrid inline Markdown editor
• automatic tag extraction from note text
• wiki links between notes
• local search across title, body, and tags
• folders in the Notes screen for additional browsing structure
• a small settings surface focused on writing behavior

The current top-level destinations are:

• Notes
• Tags
• Search
• Settings

On phones, these live in a bottom navigation bar. On wider screens, they move to a navigation rail.

Quick start

1. Open Notes.
2. Tap New note.
3. Give the note a title, or leave the title blank and start writing.
4. Write in Markdown in the main editor.
5. Add tags like #work/project-a directly in the note body.
6. Create links to other notes with [[Note title]].

Otter autosaves locally after a short pause while you type.

Notes

Create a note

• Tap the New note floating action button in Notes.
• If you are currently inside a folder, the new note is created in that folder.
• If another Android app shares text or Markdown into Otter, Otter opens a new note seeded with that content.

Open a note

• Tap a note card from Notes, Tags, or Search.

Title behavior

• The title field is separate from the body.
• If you leave the title blank, Otter derives the saved title from the first non-blank line of the note body.
• If both title and body are blank, the note appears as Untitled.

Saving

• Otter saves locally after a short debounce while you type.
• While a save is in flight, the top bar shows Saving locally....
• Undo and redo are available in the editor top bar for the current editing session.

The editor

Otter uses one hybrid writing surface rather than separate write and preview tabs.

What the hybrid editor does

• Closed Markdown markers can fade away so the note reads more like finished text.
• When you move the caret back into a styled span, the raw markers are revealed for editing.
• Inline images render in place when their syntax resolves to an image source.
• Code blocks render with code styling, and visible code blocks expose a Copy code block action.

Editor controls

The current toolbar exposes these actions:

• Bold -> wraps or unwraps with **
• Italic -> wraps or unwraps with _
• Link -> inserts [label](https://)
• Bullet -> toggles bullet list markers
• Todo -> toggles task list markers
• Quote -> toggles >
• Code -> wraps or unwraps with backticks
• H1 -> toggles #
• H2 -> toggles ##
• Wiki -> inserts [[...]]

Other supported syntax, including tables, footnotes, fenced code blocks, definition lists, container blocks, and emoji aliases, can be typed manually. See Syntax Reference.

Markdown visibility

• The summary row below the title shows either Syntax hidden or Raw markdown.
• Tapping that chip toggles whether completed markers are concealed.
• The same behavior is also available in Settings.

More actions in the editor

Use the More actions menu in the top bar to:

• mark or unmark a note as favorite
• pin or unpin the note
• archive the note

Organizing notes

Otter currently supports both folders and tags.

Folders

Folders are managed from the Notes screen.

• Tap New folder to create one.
• Use / to create nested folders, for example Projects/Android.
• Open a folder from the list to filter the Notes screen to that folder.
• Use Rename to rename the selected folder tree.
• Use Delete to delete the selected folder.

Important folder behavior:

• Deleting a folder does not delete the notes inside it.
• Instead, Otter removes that folder assignment from notes in that folder tree and keeps the notes in your library.
• You can move a note into a folder from the note action sheet.

Tags

Tags are created from note content automatically.

• Type tags directly in the body, for example #journal or #work/project-a.
• Otter extracts tags when the note saves.
• Open Tags to browse every tag currently found across your notes.
• Selecting a tag filters the note list for that tag.

Current tag rules:

• tags cannot contain spaces
• nested tags use /
• supported characters are letters, numbers, _, -, and /
• the first character after # must be a letter or number

Examples:

• #journal
• #work/project-a
• #release_2026

Wiki links and backlinks

Wiki links are created with double brackets.

• Type [[ and start entering a note title.
• Otter shows note-title suggestions once the query is non-blank.
• Tap a suggestion to complete the link and close the brackets automatically.

Important wiki-link behavior:

• Suggestions search existing note titles.
• When Otter saves a note, it tries to resolve each wiki link by exact note-title match, ignoring case.
• If you type a wiki link manually and no current note title matches exactly, Otter still keeps the raw wiki-link label in the note.

Backlinks are tracked in the data model and backlink counts can surface on note cards, but the current writing view intentionally avoids showing backlink chip noise while you are typing.

Notes list actions

From the Notes screen:

• tap a note to open it
• tap Pin on a note card to pin or unpin it
• long-press a note to open its action sheet

The note action sheet currently supports:

• Move to folder
• Archive note
• Delete note

Search

Open Search to find notes by:

• title
• note text
• tags

Search behavior in the current build:

• results update as you type
• search is local
• matching is prefix-friendly, so partial word starts work better than exact long phrases
• results show a snippet, match label, matched tags, and badges such as Pinned or Favorite

Examples:

• search for a title word like daily
• search for a short phrase from the body
• search for a tag path such as work/project-a

Settings

The current Settings screen is intentionally small.

Available setting:

• Hide completed Markdown markers

What it does:

• keeps the hybrid editor calm by fading closed markers until the caret returns to them
• changes presentation only
• does not change how your notes are stored

Sharing into Otter

Otter currently supports incoming Android share intents for:

• text/plain
• text/markdown
• text/x-markdown
• other text/* content that resolves to shared text

Typical flow:

1. In another app, use Android Share.
2. Pick Otter.
3. Otter opens a new note with the shared text already inserted.

Limits and current Pro behavior

The current note-creation policy in the Android codebase is:

• free tier: up to 10 notes
• Pro entitlement: unlimited note creation

If you try to create another note after hitting the free limit, Otter shows the paywall instead of opening a new editor.

What is not surfaced yet

These capabilities exist in the codebase or product direction, but are not currently exposed as normal everyday UI in the app surfaces documented above:

• full file import UI
• export UI for Markdown or text
• share-out from existing notes
• tag rename, delete, or pin controls in the Tags screen
• account and sync UI as a complete end-user flow
• app lock toggle in visible settings
• restore flow for archived or deleted notes

Daily workflow example

1. Create a note from Notes.
2. Give it a title or leave the title blank and start writing.
3. Add structure with headings.
4. Add tags like #work/launch.
5. Link related notes with [[Release plan]].
6. Use Search to find notes by title, text, or tag.
7. Use Tags when you want to browse a topic across multiple notes.
8. Use folders in Notes when you want a browsable library path, such as Projects/Android.

See also

• Syntax Reference